The present book is the outcome of many years of research on the Lombard Libri Feudorum, of which it offers a working Latin text based on the principal and most widely used editions of the Libri and an up-to-date English translation. This book is not only for medieval historians or experts in medieval legal history already acquainted with this kind of source and terminology but also for an audience of students and non-specialists. Therefore, I decided to offer a broad introduction to guide readers through the making of the Libri and show their relevance to modern historiography. A glossary is also provided to facilitate the understanding of Lombard vernacularisms and clarify other problematic terms.
This work was carried out within the European Research Council funded project ‘Civil Law, Common Law, Customary Law: Consonance, Divergence and Transformation in Western Europe from the Late Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries’ (Grant agreement number: 740611 CLCLCL), based at the St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies. The translation, in particular, has immensely benefitted from the ideas shared in a reading group gathered monthly at John Hudson’s office, in which the entire CLCLCL team has patiently accompanied me through the most difficult points of the text. For this reason, I am grateful to, in rigorously alphabetical order, Dan Armstrong, Andrew Cecchinato, Emanuele Conte, David de Concilio, Cinnamon Ducasse, Will Eves, Cory Hey, John Hudson, Ingrid Ivarsen, Kim-Thao Le, Matthew McHaffie, and Sarah White.
I am especially grateful to Emanuele Conte, for his support and advice, and to John Hudson and Magnus Ryan, who uncomplainingly underwent several readings of the manuscript, providing insightful thoughts and reviews. Also, the kindness of Jeroen Chorus should be mentioned, as he spontaneously offered precious advice and a much-appreciated copy of the Dutch translation of the Libri Feudorum, which he co-edited in 2016. I must express all my gratitude to Gadi Algazi, who several years ago convinced a younger Attilio to expand his studies on Italian peasantries and embark on a radically different journey. Last but not least, I must wholeheartedly thank my wife Chiara, now an expert in feudal law, for her tolerance and support during months of remote working in our tiny Scottish hermitage.